Welcome to my blog. I am a former local journalist who now works in PR and a Conservative and community activist in Woking and Horsell. This blog will keep updated on local issues as well as my interests and quirky news stories.
I received my green bins a couple of days ago for the new garden waste collection. As I was among the first to sign up for the scheme and so got two bins for £45, which I thought was very satisfactory. Over the weekend, I have cleared my vegetable beds of weeds and grass as well put in grass and cuttings – I’ve still got room in one bin for more and the other is empty.
This really is a great scheme. It will save 400,000 plastic bags each year going to landfill. It will mean that collections will become more efficient, only going to those who have signed up, saving money for the taxpayer and carbon dioxide for the environment. The bins will prevent animal interference and the whole scheme will raise revenue for the council to offset its cost.
It is only right that those who use the service because should pay for it, rather than the cost be spread evenly through council tax onto those who perhaps don’t have gardens – or, worse, those who live in communal blocks where they already pay service charges to have them tended.
Change is always a difficult thing. People are used to the old system – it’s easy and straighforward with no capital outlay needed. But with budget constraints on us, residents will have to get used to the idea that more and more council services may require a contribution from users. It’s not a happy thing to face up to but it may be the only option for a sustainable financial future.
The Liberal Democrats of course claim that they would run the council along a different financial model where there would be enough money for everyone to have all the services they want – and to take on some of the county council’s too apparently – but having looked at their record in Kingston, Waverley and Richmond, I wouldn’t hold your breath.
The only way to restore proper funding to Surrey as a whole is to vote for a government that will scrap the Barnet formula and restore parity of funding across the UK.
Given the mess that Labour has made of the economy, that might not entail much more money in Woking but at least we won’t be losing out.
